I also am thinking of a small car for other reasons to you I never go anywhere,I have my list down to Mitsubishi colt 1.1 chain cam engines,Fiat panda or grande punto ,citroen c1,3,4.

I used to have a Smart forfour 1.3 which is the same car as the Mitsubishi and I was more than satisfied but I like the look of the grande punto.With small cars I think its best to stay away from diesel version as they are so complicated these days with some very expensive parts.You will notice a big difference in fuel bills if you run a C1 1.0 and fuel is not going to get cheaper.

Edited by Andy Bairsto on 17/12/2010 at 13:48

I would buy used, as your budget will go further, and you won't be tied into any mileage limits. I assume that, as you are considering superminis with small engines, you are not bothered about refinement, but, if you are, then a slightly larger car would be preferable. Even a base model VW Golf 1.4 would be a more relaxed motorway car than a supermini.

If you are easily covering 30,000 miles a year, then I would have thought that would be enough to warrant a diesel (in financial terms at least). I don't know your budget, but the 1.4 HDi engine available with the C2 is fine, along with the 1.6TDCI version of the Ford Fiesta. Don't forget japanese cars such as the Toyota Yaris, too.

If it was me, I'd be tempted to go for a mk5 VW Golf 1.9TDI, purely for economy and the comfort of a slightly larger car.

I've just ordered a new C1 myself to save money. I believe these are possibly the most economical petrol cars you can get. In the real world a lot of cars don't get anywhere near their official fuel consumption figures, but with C1's (and 107s/Agyos) they seem to be getting 60+mpg quite often. Some of the other nice things about it is that the servicing is pretty cheap, and it's chain cam. The biggest drawback is that they are fairly basic cars. You can't adjust the height of the seat which could be a problem if you spend a lot of time behind the wheel. At 70mph the C1 feels suprisingly good and the refinement seemed to be good at that speed.

The Panda's are good, both the petrol and Diesel. Euro 5 engines come out soon, which should offer better fuel consumption and performance. The petrol engine won't match the consumption of the C1, but it is a bit less basic.

You can get good discount off both the C1 and Panda. I don't know how much money you have to spend, but you should be able to get a brand new C1 VTR+ or a Panda 1.2 dynamic for £8k (maybe less). VAT will push the prices up a bit next year though.

If I may add my tuppence-worth I would say

- You are commuting a fair distance so I suggest a small car might be noisier and less comfortable than a big car which has an affect on your concentration and performance once you arrive at the other end. For example a small car has a smaller wheelbase so you feel more of the bumps.

- Small cars cost less to start with but after a couple of years the depreciation of a big car brings them to a similar price to a small car. A Mundane-o, Vectra or Saab will have lost bucketloads.

- A big diesel car on a run is not much worse than a small car. My Saab 93 would do 50+ MPG from Cambridge to Norwich while currently the i10 does about 55 on the same stretch. I know how I feel when I finish that run in the little i10 but in the Saab I could drive all day.

- A larger car is safer. Before people point out the 5* NCAP ratings the tests are different for small cars and not directly comparable across classes.

- Therefore I would suggest you think about a big car that is a few years old that perhaps has some warranty left. The old shape Skoda Superb 1.9 Diesel seems an option to me, the 120 or 150 BHP Vectra diesel, the Epica is very cheap and cheerful, the i30 a bit smaller but there are some well priced 2nd hand versions starting to appear with a long warranty left, Mitsubishi Lancer is a left field choice?

Welcome to the forum!

I think the best compromise for your needs - assuming you don't need the space of your current Honda - would be supermini size.

I'm not sure if your commute is 100 miles each way or round trip: either way your mileage is high enough to justify a diesel. You need something that will run up to high mileage without wearing out.

I'd suggest you have a look at diesel versions of the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Skoda Fabia and Mazda 2, but there are of course lots of others in this class. Try to find something with a 6-speed gearbox for relaxed cruising if you can. I'm not sure which of the cars I've mentioned have 6-sdpeed gearboxes, but you'll find lots of information ion the Reviews section of this site.

Let us know how you get on.

Edited by Avant on 18/12/2010 at 18:00